As of December 31, 2014, Fargo’s Persona C30e and DTC550 is no longer be supported by Fargo. While ASAP Identification does have some parts in stock to support these printers, we cannot get more parts from Fargo. We will do our best to keep these printers going for you but it may be time to consider an upgrade.

If you’re still using a Fargo DTC550, C30, C30e, DTC400 or DTC400e, now is a great time to look at a newer model printer.

Please contact us to discuss what option is best for you at 317-488-1030 or info@asapident.com

Matica System - Matica develops, manufactures and markets proprietary high performance, mid-range and desktop solutions for industrial card personalization and card mailing systems. The Group offers a full range of alternative personalization and encoding technologies for banking, government, access control, ID and transportation applications.

Printers include:

MOCA-DIRECT CARD PRINTER - The Moca offers great value and versatility with high printing speed and great print quality. Designed as a robust and long-lasting machine, the Moca provides reliable service in any office. Upgradeable add-on modules are available for this printer, including a magnetic stripe encoder and a WiFi connection module. The standard setup comes with the input hopper and output tray at the front for convenient over-the-counter operations. To enable even higher card output, the optional rear output hopper can be attached to the back side of the printer.

Espresso-Direct Card Printer - The Espresso offers great value and versatility with extraordinary printing speed and outstanding print quality. Compact and powerful, this desktop printer will provide dependable service in any card production environment. The Matica Espresso is available as single- or dual-side printer and ready to be used in single- or dual-sided applications. The entire product line offers optional WiFi and Ethernet connectivity, which makes printing and encoding convenient and trouble-free. The wide range of options will meet most card printing demands and can easily be added to an existing configuration.

XID8100-Entry Level Retransfer - The XID8100 is an ideal solution for the regular day-to-day demand to personalize all types of cards. Due to the retransfer printing technology, the printer can print over-the-edge without any limitations to the card design and graphic layout. The convenient modular concept enables the printer to follow upgrade demands at any time. The XID8100 has various upgrade options including a flipper module and various encoders.

A wide choice of In-Line lamination modules to further protect the card against any physical impact or to make it even more secure, can be attached to the printer.

Whatever your ID, ASAP Identification Security can help. We not only sell card design software, but we can help you design or adjust your design, as well.

Just call (317-488-1030) or email (info@asapident.com) and we will be more than happy to help.

If you are just getting started with a badge program at your organization OR updating your program, here are a few thoughts to keep in mind as you design our ID badge to ensure it provides the right security, information and image for your organization.

Today’s card design software comes in many editions with varying levels of complexity but all IDs share some basic elements.

Orientation: VERTICAL is very common, especially if hanging on a lanyard but HORIZONTAL is great especially with long names/titles of those badged. You may also consider using VERTICAL for staff and HORIZONTAL for contractors or visitors. This provides a visual security cue for your organization.

Do you need to allow for a punch at the top to hang from a badge reel or lanyard? Will the card be placed inside a badge holder, thus not requiring a slot or hole punch? This will be important for your layout.

Do you need information on both the front and the back? Should both the front and back be the same (to account for IDs flipping around) or do you prefer to have static data on the back such as phone numbers and security information?

Once you have those basic questions answered, you can get to the design elements:

Do you want your logo with standard corporate/organization colors and fonts?

For specific badges, will you include a photo? If so, make sure you have photos of similar size and with similar lighting to make your cards look consistent.

Will you include employee name (first and/ last) or just initials? Are titles and departments needed? What about expiration dates or dates of hire? Also consider noting if employees are allowed be about your building unescorted? Color bars can help provide that information to others.

Every project is different, and while we know that the HID Identity on Demand card services can address a number of obstacles in a badging project, not every project is a perfect fit for these services. It is important for organizations to analyze the costs associated with re-badging efforts when determining which method is the best for meeting their objectives.

The following considerations should also be evaluated:

What are the internal costs of the project?

Will additional resources be needed to meet deadlines?

Rebadging may be just one aspect of the overall project. Will the overall project be in jeopardy if these resources are applied to managing this specific task?

What about fallout? Typically you should account for approx 10%, so if you need to produce 20,000 personalized iCLASS cards you will need to purchase 22,000 units.

When planning timelines you will need to account for maintenance and repairs. If you don’t have the budget to purchase additional equipment, your schedule should be based on a percentage of the equipment you have on hand, i.e. if you have 8 printers you should base your schedule on 6.

Because resources are limited (both hardware and labor), it is important to calculate the opportunity costs associated with dedicating resources to complete this task.

If you are going to ramp up equipment to handle a rebadging efforts, you need to consider future applications to limit replacing hardware and system unnecessarily.

Lastly, you should consider the cost of secure warehousing and the uniformity of the finished credential – This gets harder and more expensive with each additional facility.

Regardless if it’s the number of cards, the number of different layouts, or the investment in labor and other equipment, several factors should be considered when evaluating card services over desktop printers. If you decide to invest in a desktop printer, HID Global offers a full range of printers that may address your needs for smaller projects.

Please call ASAP Identification Security for help in evaluating your needs @ 317-488-1030 or email us at info@asapident.com.

On the Butler University campus, your student ID is your all-access pass into the library, athletic center, and usually your next meal. When incoming students register, they receive the laminated photo cards and carry them with them at all times. Loaded with “Dawg Bucks,” their student ID cards act like debit cards for purchases at campus dining spots, some select off-campus restaurants and the campus bookstore.

During high-volume new student registration – when hundreds of students need cards in a short time frame – fast ID card creation is critical. When cumbersome printing slowed the process, Butler began looking for a better way.

Magicard’s patented HoloKote security prints a watermark graphic into the overlay panel during the normal card printing cycle, providing anti-counterfeit protection for your cards. The image prints in a grid pattern across the entire card surface as a frosted image that is invisible when viewed normally. When flexed or held at an angle in direct light, the HoloKote image becomes clearly visible.

When combined with HoloPatch cards this watermark can be visible in all light conditions.

With the Rio Pro you can print a HoloKote Flex image across the entire card surface. This can be customized to your own logo or security design by using the Custom HoloKote feature.

Smart cards offer many advantages over proximity cards

Proximity readers and cards have been on the market for over 25 years. As the first contactless card that can be “read” without inserting or creating contact with a reader, proximity cards advanced credentials forward significantly.

However, proximity cards are not without their limitations. Namely, storage and security. The storage on proximity cards is limited to the card number alone—making it functional for only one purpose. Additionally, proximity technology is highly susceptible to counterfeits and duplication.

Smart card technology solves both issues.

Storage: There are multiple sectors on a smart card, allowing for storage of several different types of applications, including access control, POS, computer access, data storage and cashless vending. Smart cards can be used for multiple purposes and are 100 times faster than proximity credentials.

Making the transition
It’s fairly simple to transition to smart cards on existing systems. Allegion’s aptiQ™ Multi-Technology Readers allow companies to move at their own pace because they read both 125 kHz proximity and 13.56 MHz contactless smart cards in a single unit. Even more, Allegion’s aptiQ readers are very easy to install or replace with a quick-connect design that uses standard wiring.